Canas's Journey
by Kilroywuzheere
Summary: Their adventure over, the band disperses, heading for home. Canas has started his journey home with a most unusual "traveling companion". An ancient dark tome known as Ereshkigal. Little does he know just how much trouble one little book would cause him.
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: Alright peeps! I'm actually writing something. I know I know, a shocker for sure, but I've been feeling the itch to write, and my brain's being uncooperative when it comes to writing shiz of my own. Stupid Eric not introducing me to his friends. I gave him life, I should at least get a story out of it. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the reboot of my favorite fic, Canas's Journey.

"Who said we were paying these people!?" a rather scrawny brown haired man shouted, standing from his chair, causing the looming armored man standing across from him to cower slightly. "Dammit Hector! If I knew I'd have to pay all these morons, I'd have saved more. I was hoping we'd not have to take this group back to Ostia before disbanding." He green cloaked man sighed and covered his face with his ink stained hands and sitting back down. "How much money is left?"

"Matthew!" the armored man shouted, causing a small cloaked man to appear, seemingly out of nowhere. Hector jumped a bit at his servant's sudden appearance. "I told you to at least say something before doing that."

"I'm sorry master, it merely slipped my mind," the small thief responded, smiling wryly. He bowed slightly, removing the hood from his head revealing his hair, colored a dirty blonde. "What is it that you have summoned me for?" This man may have sounded like he didn't know, but those in the cabin knew all too well that this man somehow witnessed all the goings on within their little army.

"Do you know how much money we have left at out disposal?" a redhead spoke, standing off to the side, hoping to just get this over with. Eliwood was far too kind, and way too forgiving. Mark simply sighed as he waited for a response. The number spoken by Hector's servant did not please the green cloaked man.

"Dammit. Looks like we're taking a few of them back to Ostia. Pick out the people you can stand for another month or so, and we'll pay the rest from what we've got. Anyone who thinks they didn't get a fair cut will be told to report to Ostia in a few months," the brown haired one sat farther back in his chair, sighing heavily. A green haired woman wrapped her arms around him from behind, poking her head over the back of the chair next to his.

"Come now Mark, at least we're finally back. Its been a long time since we've gotten to just relax," she spoke, calming the tactician. He sighed in relief. She was right, it had been a long long time since they'd worried about anything this trivial. "So everyone, who're we paying first."

"MAGIC MAN! COME NOW! JUST BECAUSE THE JOURNEY IS OVER DOESN'T MEAN YOU GET OUT OF TRAINING!" a man shouted from down the hall.

"Bartre!" everyone replied at once, laughing slightly.

"MAGIC MAN!" was all Canas needed to hear. He quickly grabbed his books and walked out of his room, quickly making his way down the hall and turned the corner… Only to run squarely into the man he was trying to avoid.

"Hello magic man. Ready for our morning jog?" Bartre asked, helping the purple haired man up. Canas immediately began picking up his books, neatly stashing them away beneath his cloak. "Still carrying books huh? You'll turn to mush again if you do nothing but read. Come now! Off to train." The large man picked the magic user up and started carrying him off to the deck of the ship. Canas was starting to grow annoyed of this man, yet he was still too nice to vocalize his frustrations.

"You know, its rather hard to train myself when you're doing all the work Bartre," Canas said, growing irritated of being jostled around on this man's shoulder. Bartre uttered a short sentence of understanding and set the man down. "Great. Now what will you have us do today?"

"Hrmm…" Bartre's face contorted into a most uncomfortable position, his thinking face. "I know!" The man pulled out a mighty battle ax, easily a third of Canas's weight. "Lift this." Canas looked at the man, completely flabbergasted. There was no way he would be able to lift that thing for long. "Carry it until we dock." Canas wore a defeated expression as Bartre strapped the thing to the back of this user of the elder arts.

"Uncle Canas! Where are you?" a familiar, and much more welcome, voice cried out. A green haired little girl emerged from beneath the deck, smiling widely as she laid eyes on Canas. She ran up to him, tackling him in a hug, something Canas could normally handle, but now he had a sixty pound ax on his back. And so Canas fell to the deck with a mighty thud. "No vanishing from your room. Who are you, Matthew?"

"Point taken." Canas laughed as he slowly got up. He couldn't really whine about Bartre's training. At the beginning of this journey, there was no way Canas could stand under this amount of weight, let alone stand back up. "So what is it that you want of me Nino?" She simply held up a book. "Ah, so you want another I take it?" He pulled a book out from under his cloak, brushing the newest addition to his collection, one he dare not tell the others of. He brought out a dull brown tome. "Here you go." Nino smiled brightly as she immediately found a nice sunny place to sit. Canas turned his head for a moment, and once he looked back, Jaffar was once more at his niece's side. She began reading aloud to him, as best she could. He occasionally spoke just enough to help her along.

"Alright magic man! Twenty laps! Come on now," Bartre bellowed once more, reminding Canas even more of his current predicament. Fortunately, Matthew appeared after a few laps, calling Bartre to Hector's quarters. Thank the lord! As soon as the man was out of sight, Canas dropped his load and sat down next to it.

"That man will be the death of me…" Canas said quietly, breathing heavily. A silver haired man, accompanied by a beautiful blonde woman walked along the deck, out for some sun. The ship was a truly stifling place, and people had to do what they could to avoid claustrophobia. "Good day Lord Pent. I trust you and Lady Louise are doing well?" He got up, using the ax stuck in the deck to help himself to his feet.

"Why yes, we are doing quite well, it is a wonderful day after all," the purple cloaked man replied, looking down to the ax sticking up next to his friend. "I see Bartre is still on that training kick.." Canas nodded sullenly, but wished to change the subject. Pent pulled out a familiar book, and Canas knew what was coming.

"How often do I have to tell you that is a gift? I do not require it back." Canas shook his head and held up his hand to stop the Mage General. Laughing slightly, Pent placed the book once more in a pocket, instead pulling out a small pouch that jingled with gold. "And I do not require payment for it. Why are you so dead set on paying me back?" Pent forced the bag into the shaman's hand.

"If you won't take it as payment, then consider it a gift." Pent smiled as Canas sighed heavily. "It is best to just keep it, my husband tends to get stubborn about such things," Louise said, smiling warmly. A small chortle escaped Canas's throat as he placed the bag in his robe.

"Fine. I see I am not going to escape without it. I accept your 'gift' Lord." They shared a small laugh before one of the pirates called out they were approaching port.

"Alright! Everyone back to your cabins!" Fargus shouted out. "Anything you leave behind will find its way into a shop owner's hands long before it finds its way back to you." And so everyone made their way quickly to their rooms to gather their things as pirates scrambled to prepare the ship.

Canas had been called to Hector's room for his pay, and had left just as quickly as he'd entered, managing to avoid Bartre the entire time he found his way onto the dock. The port city was a bustling place, full of various merchants, pilgrims, and dock workers. That is, it was a bustling city except wherever Fargus's ship happened to dock. As he made his way into town, stretching his legs, most people gave him a wide berth. He had come off of Fargus's ship after all, there was no telling how dangerous he was. While they were right to fear his power, the wouldn't be anywhere near as leery if they knew him as a person. Sighing slightly, Canas made his way to the local tavern, wanting to rest for a bit.

The door swung open before him as he walked into the smoky room. Canas found a nice seat in the corner, rather comfy by bar standards, and it was out of the way, he wouldn't bother anyone. He reached into his cloak, pulling out a book he had been waiting to read for quite a long time. Sadly, his reading session was cut short when a rather shady fellow made his way over to the table.

"There are plenty of other tables open good sir. But, should you want this one, I will gladly move," Canas said, placing his book once more into its spot. He rose, and the man moved quickly in front of him. Canas felt a sharp point at his stomach.

"Your gold or your life scholar," was all that escaped the man's mouth, and it was all the man really need say. His intent was quite clear, and Canas's options were few. He reached out with his spirit, feeling the dark power coursing through him. He held onto this power, instead of unleashing it, hoping to spare this man's life.

"So, one would rather take my hard earned gold than earn it himself? You should reconsider this path you've taken, I can almost guarantee that it will not end well." Canas felt the sharp pressure on his stomach increase.

"I don't need any lectures. This is your last chance, gimme your gold, or I spill your blood and take it, it's up to you." Canas moved slowly, so as to not startle the man. He brushed past on of his books, allowing him to channel the powerful spirits within him. They began to spill from his being, falling to the ground and quickly snaking up the man's leg. He screamed out as the dark energies wrapped themselves around him, digging into the poor man's very soul.

The darkness split strait through the man, emerging on the other side. The man's scream suddenly stopped as he slumped to the ground in a heap, his eyes pinpoints, his face contorted into a scream that would never end. "May you rest in peace, I wish you happiness in the beyond…" Canas moved quickly to leave the tavern. Despite the lives he had taken on his journey, he still felt uneasy sending one to the great beyond. He prayed silently for the man's soul as he made his way out of town. Last thing he needed was to be pursued by the men of the marquis ruling the area.

Once more he pulled out his new book, feeling the quiet power resting within the ancient tome. As he turned the pages so aged, they were far beyond yellow, he felt the spirits within the books were different from the ones he normally dealt with in his elder magics. But he ignored it, as the information within this book was too great to pass up. The book he'd taken from Nergal, the book known as Ereshkigal.

Author's note: Well there you have it. The old version of this fic will be removed and saved as reference, so I urge you not to read it. I hoped you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.


	2. Chapter 2

Canas poured over the pages of his new tome, the dark energies within swirling around him, attempting to find a willing conduit. The processes Ereshkigal described were like nothing he'd ever seen before. It described the life force of all in great detail. Quintesence the book called it. Part of him wanted to observe this substance, and yet another felt as if it was both immoral and cruel. While still pondering this curious idea, the sky above grew dark, and the sky became ablaze with colors. It took a while for Canas to notice, so absorbed he was in his readings, but eventually the lack of light caught his attention.

"Sun down already? Where does the time go?" he said, stowing his book away. He looked towards the sky, studying the few clouds in the sky. "Doesn't look like it'll rain tonight… That's good. But…" He stopped to ponder for a while. Was it wise to go to sleep? Bandits could stumble upon him while asleep, and that could end poorly. On the other hand, not sleeping had its own consequences. Adjusting his monocle slightly, Canas decided to keep going through the night.

~---~

"How could Uncle Canas leave without saying good-bye!?" Nino said, obviously frustrated at Canas's forgetfulness. Jaffar walked alongside her as they headed down the road. "He always has his head off in the clouds. You think he just moved on to the next town Jaffar?"

"Yes." His response was emotionless, short, and to the point. He still had a hard time with these… emotions. Even around Nino, the only one he actually felt comfortable talking to in this manner. He looked down at the road just a bit, annoyed at how ineffectual he was at expressing his newfound… feelings.

"So… What did Hector talk to you about?" Nino asked. Unlike the others, Hector hadn't sent Matthew to fetch Jaffar, he'd sent Nino. All she knew about the dealings was that Hector wanted to talk to him. Jaffar opened his mouth to speak, actually managing to think before spouting out an answer.

"He… just wanted to discuss my pay," he responded in his usual emotionless voice.

"C'mon Jaffar. I know when you're lying. Out with it. What'd you really talk about?" She moved quickly moved out in front of him and looked him straight in the face. He looked down into her big blue eyes that demanded an answer.

Being an assassin, Jaffar had built up quite a large amount of enemies, all of which wanted his head. Hector said he'd work towards removing the bounty, but he couldn't make any promises. "That's what we were really talking about." Nino crossed her arms over her chest, and looked directly into Jaffar's unblinking gaze. Jaffar looked back, his face unwavering.

"You're starting to crack~!" Nino said, giggling slightly, a smile spreading across her face, attempting to get the assassin in front of her to crack. His face remained as stoic as always. After a few seconds, Nino just got frustrated. "Hmph! Fine! If you won't talk to me, I won't talk to you either." She turned on her heel and began walking down the road in a huff.

"Nino..." Jaffar's voice sounded almost like it had emotion. As if he was pleading with her. She froze momentarily, before once again stomping off. Jaffar's shoulder's moved downward ever so slightly and he breathed out in a sharp manner. ...His sigh needed work. He moved swiftly and silently to catch up to her.

~---~

Canas could feel sleep nagging at the edge of his eyes as he walked into town. The night had progressed nicely, and midnight was now upon him. He looked up at the dark, starry sky, wondering if he could still find room at any of the local inns. "I hope they aren't all closed or something… I need some sleep."

He woke up when the sun rose, shining through the window. He scarcely recalled how he got into this bed, but he wasn't about to complain. As he yawned, the first thing he noticed was how… featureless the room was. Simple wooden walls, a bed, and… that was it. His clothes were hanging on nothing over in a corner. He rose, first donning his shirt, then his jacket and cloak, his monocle hanging from a small ribbon at its neckline. Screwing it in, the room came into slightly better focus, but it was still remarkably featureless.

"Hello? Anyone here?" he called out, hearing his own voice in a strange manner. He waited for a response before looking out the window. Nothing. No road, no other buildings, not even a ground. He quickly turned around and walked to the door, opening it without hesitation. On the other side was blackness, with a single figure standing upon nothing within it. "Who are you? What is this place?"

The figure turned. Its face was without definition. Flat where the nose should be, the eyes were nothing but dents in the skin, and the mouth was little more than a small slit outlined by impressions of teeth. It spoke, talking without noise, being heard without ears, and its mouth moving as if it was a habit. "You will find out all in due time Canas. All in due time… But for now, you shall return." With a flick of its wrist, Canas was flung back into the room, the door slamming as soon as he passed through it.

Canas jerked awake in a cold sweat. He took a moment catching his breath before looking around in a mad manner. He was in a room, this one weathered with age, the wood gnarled. He quickly got up and explored. A mirror hung upon the most distant wall, right above a small bowel of water, and next to his clothes. Still breathing heavily, he looked out the window. A small town bustled below, a wagon rolled down the road. Sighing in relief, Canas quickly got dressed, and replaced his monocle. He checked the room once over for any belongings, and left quickly, going down to the lobby.

"Is there anyone here? I'd like to thank you for the room," Canas said. A door opened and a strangely average man came walking out with a young girl. She hid behind the man's leg.

"Glad you decided to wake up," the man, who Canas could only assume was the owner, said. "We heard a knock on the door, but when we got there, we only found you collapsed on our stoop. Care telling us what happened?" Canas thought for a moment, but… There was nothing he could remember beyond what this man described.

"I'm sorry, I cannot recall." He thought back. What could be causing this lapse of memory? "Do you know how long I was out?"

"Only for about half the day. It's already around noon."

"Oh my. Well, how much would you like for the room?" Canas reached into his cloak for the sack of money he'd received as payment. The man raised his hand to block him.

"That won't be necessary. I had an extra room, and I wasn't about to leave a collapsed man at my front door." Canas thanked him kindly, and walked out the door.

"You think Master will be pleased?" the girl asked. The man simply stared at the door.

~---~

"I should get a traveling companion. Especially if the distance between towns gets too far." He looked around at the town. This was the distribution center for the port, it was small, but busy. Wagons passed by, heading down the many roads leading to various territories throughout Elibe. Undoubtedly, this place would have a mercenary guild outpost. Canas asked around before finding the place. It was a large building, housing a bar, inn, gathering space, and a job postings lounge. He opened the doubled doors and walked up to the information desk.

"I would like to hire an escort please," the purple haired shaman said. The woman behind the desk pulled out a guest book, containing all the mercenaries that were currently available for escort. "Can I meet some of them?" The woman nodded and lead Canas into the gathering space.

"Fresh meat guys," she said, unenthusiastic. A few of the mercenaries leaped up to greet Canas, eager to begin a new job. Others just continued with what they were doing, just wanting to rest after their last contract was completed.

"So whata ya need?" one of the more eager mercenaries asked. Canas was impressed with the young man's enthusiasm, though he wondered if it would wain...

"I need an escort to Ilia. Just protection from bandits and robbers," he responded. A few of the men sighed lightly and left Canas to talk to those remaining, while a few others got up at the prospect of an easy job. '_How am I supposed to pick?_' he thought looking over the group of men in front of him.

"Make them fight for it..." Canas heard something from behind. He turned quickly to see... nothing...

"Whata ya lookin' at?" the same mercenary as before asked.

"Thought I heard something..." The be-monocled man turned back to face this group. That being stood before him, the world vanishing around him for a split second before the real world came rushing back. He gasped slightly and held his head for a little bit before regaining his composure.

"You alright?" this time a rather young ax man asked. Canas nodded before getting back to business. He had to pick from this group... Alright. Interviews then.

~---~

Canas had narrowed it down to about four candidates... Geez... He should have just posted a job and waited back at that inn or something... Groaning slightly he looked over the few he had left. Two swordsmen, a lancer, and an ax man. Alright... Now what?

"Fight them. Make them earn their money..." Canas looked up, but there was nothing there. Then he felt an odd sensation that seemed strangely familiar. He motioned for the four to follow him. After they were out in the square, he spoke to them without facing them.

"Now... For a slight test." His voice held more malice than usual. "What's the point in paying for someone that can't fight as well as I?" He turned, a large grin on his face. "Now... Defend yourselves." The mercenaries gathered before him stood in silence for a few moments before busting out laughing. Canas frowned as dark energy began pouring out of him. It slowly snaked along the ground, rising, and letting out a loud shriek. Whatever it was certainly got the men's attention quickly.

They leaped away, one of them barely dodging the snake-like energy's grasp. Breathing heavily, they finally drew their weapons. "You better pay us for this old man!" one of them shouted, raising his sword and quickly chopping off the huge serpent's head. He smiled triumphantly as he looked over to Canas. "Looks like you aren't as good as you think old man."

"Feh. No money for you. Losing to an 'old man' would stain your pride, would it not?" He was smiling slightly, looking at the others that had yet to drop their guard. Obviously far more experienced when facing magic than this cocky one. The serpent's head sunk into the ground as the body rose again, grabbing the sword master in a jaw like grasp. He screeched out in pain as the teeth sunk into his very soul.

The energy flung the man aside. The body flew into a wall and collapsed at the bottom. "No job for you..." Canas smiled wickedly. "Now for the rest of you..." He swept his hand and the snake like energy struck at the lancer. He raised his spear to block. The energy split around it and grabbed him anyway. "Feh... Too slow. Or maybe just unobservant. Fail." He made a motion with his hands as if tossing the man aside and the snake flung him next to the last one.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" the ax man shouted, flinging himself at Canas, bringing the ax down on his purple hair. Only to feel it not connect. A small image of Canas was left behind, what was left of a rune glowed on the ground beneath him. "Shit." The ax man quickly turned to the snake, but it sank into the ground, collapsing. They'd drawn a bit of a crowd at this point.

"Looks like he fled when things got too tough..." the remaining swordsman said, sheathing his sword. The ax man slapped him upside the head. Suddenly, a black blur shot from the spectators, hitting the sword user in the center of his back. He collapsed in a heap from the shot of the shot. Canas came out of the crowd, smiling evilly.

"Too cocky... Fail," Canas said, kicking the man's unconscious corpse. "Looks like you get the job Boyle..." Canas then fell to his knees, getting up a few seconds after. "Did I really just do... What I think I just did?" Apparently the dark spirits had... influenced... his actions far more than he liked them to. Boyle was keeping his distance, his ax still drawn. "You needn't worry, I'm done testing you." Still, the brown haired ax man didn't drop his guard. "Heh... Cautious to the very end huh?"

"...Will the others be okay?" the sole remaining mercenary asked. Canas nodded. From what he recalled of the event, he had kept most of the dark energies from entering their bodies. They would need some rest, and maybe some help from a monk, but... They would recover nicely.

~---~

"Hey Jaffar, what do you suppose that crowd's for?" Nino asked, pointing over to the small group that had gathered around Canas.

"Why not go find out?" Jaffar said. He was happy that Nino decided to start talking to him again. The corners of his mouth found their way up every so slightly in a rather poor smile.

"Alright!" she said happily. She rushed on over, pushing her way to the front, seeing Canas facing down a rather bulky man with a rather large ax. And an unconscious man at his feet... "Uncle Canas! What's going on here?!" She rushed out to him, looking up at him. He smiled nervously, opening his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Boyle.

"This man was 'testing' some of us in combat," Boyle said, his ax still ready to strike down Canas should he show signs of attack again. "Took out three of us." He jerked his head towards the two men at the base of the nearby building. Canas averted his eyes from the glare Nino was giving him.

"What?" she said, "Uncle Canas, did you really do this?" Canas was still avoiding her glare. He nodded, finally turning to face her gaze. Smiling weakly he tried to explain. "You didn't even tell them you were a shaman did you?" He sighed, slumping his shoulders in a defeated manner. He had tried explaining this stuff to Nino before, but... He didn't want to scare her so the explanation was far from satisfactory. "You're unbelievable sometime Uncle Canas."

"Alright, I get it I get it. Boyle, you have the job, plus a little extra for putting up with my little... display right then," the be-monocled man told the large man. Eying Canas cautiously, he finally lowered his ax. Strapping it onto his back once more, he went back to the guild headquarters, and got some help gathering up his friends.

"Oh yeah. Why're you here Nino?"

"You forgot to say good-bye!" Her blue eyes glared at him with renewed vigor. Oops. "But I'll forgive you this time. But I'm coming with you the rest of the way." Her tone was happy and childish once more. Canas smiled brightly in return.

"Of course, I wouldn't have it any other way." Nino giggled happily. "Is Jaffar with you?" Canas knew full well that the man would never leave Nino's side for too long. His devotion was great... So why wasn't he here now? Probably trying to lay low. The man probably had quite the bounty on his head.

"Yes," Nino said, grabbing Canas by the hand and leading him away. The crowd had dispersed for the most part, a few completely lifeless people had plunked themselves down, happy with people watching. She pulled her uncle a ways away from the crowd to find Jaffar had plunked himself down. A small group of children had gathered around him.

"Dang!" a small boy said, frustrated. Nino walked up, asking what was going on. "We're trying to beat him in a staring contest, but he's won every time..." Nino looked over to the assassin, who mouthed the world "Help". Giggling slightly, Nino shooed the kids away, giving them a few coins for candy. They ran off quickly.

"Hello Jaffar. I trust you're still doing well," Canas said. The unblinking eyes of Jaffar looked up at him.

"Yes."

"Still as talkative as ever I see."

"..."

"Yep..." The purple haired shaman sighed loudly as Nino came back.

"Are we gonna stay the night?" Nino asked.

"Why?" Canas was slightly baffled, his day hadn't started that long ago. He then noticed the rather vivid purple that painted the sky. Oh yeah, his day had started rather late by his standards. "Alright, let's find us an inn, huh?" Nino nodded happily and Jaffar just stood up. Canas lead them to the inn he'd woken up in this morning. Another man, far older than the one from this "morning" greeted them.

"Wasn't there a younger man with a young girl here?" he asked.

"No. Why do you ask?" Canas stood silent for a while. Why did this man not appear earlier? Hmmm... And why did that other man refer to things like "my front step"?

"Its nothing." He got them a room for three, at a slight discount, maybe from the look on Jaffar's face, maybe not. Canas hoped that he didn't have any odd dream this time around as they all settled into bed. Jaffar slept leaning against the wall, which surprised Canas slightly. Nino fell asleep rather quickly as Canas settled down for what would hopefully be a peaceful night's sleep.

~---~

Author's note: Alright peeps! Please leave me a review if you enjoyed that. Any feedback is nice, help me improve if you think I can. Thanks, and see you all next chapter. Kilroy out!


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